I was going to suggest Velotoze but your feet will sweat and get wet and cold. And they don’t last very long. Spatz are ok but eventually the water will wick down the inside of the neoprene and once it finds your sock wick even faster into your footwear. I used to use diving repair cuffs as gaiters to go over the top of winter boots and that worked pretty well. Probably better than the GripGrab cuffs I tried. I have accepted that as long as my feet are warm I don’t care if they are wet, so stick with the Spatz and wool socks.

@orangemad if you find my 3mm t handle Allen key please let me know. Also it’s very frustrating that the printed on sizes wear off very fast. Blue Point set of Allen and torx wrenches here.

I have absolutely wheeled my road bike around a supermarket or 5 when mid Audax because I had no lock and wanted to buy food. Only once has a security guard stopped me and said that I couldn’t so I asked if I could leave it with him for the minutes I would be.
I also have no problem with taking my bike into my hotel room when travelling.
However these are both much larger places than the OP’s shop of choice

Took it into one of the plethora of Greggs in Cardiff yesterday whilst I ordered a breakfast bap and a brew, again no issues from shop staff.
.

My 8 year old is a very tall 8. Currently at 148cm. He went onto a whyte 303 last year at aged 7. Such a positive difference in comparison to the frog 20” he was in. Just more room, more control and more confidence. The Vitus 24” look like good bikes. I was admiring one at Bwlch NyrA a couple of years back. Don’t sweat the suspension fork. Unnecessary weight. I only changed the handgrips for some slim specialized silicon foam ones for the boy on the Whyte and it’s been great.

Edit to add: the Whyte comes with 24×2.3” tyres. Plenty of volume to play with to take the bumps out.

@Daffy I’d second that. As for what constitutes ‘gravel’, can we just stick with the more traditional and accurate term of ‘rough stuff’? Anything that isn’t paved road or mountain.
OP sorry to hear of your issues. Hand and subsequently or correspondingly head and thoracic/cervical spine position has led me to try many different bar types, heights, widths and tyres. What worked for me in reducing the upper back pain was a more upright posture. I ended up with Whisky Winston moustache bars on one bike which worked great, Ritchey Corralito on my Audax / rough stuff bike which again allow both a more raised posture and a wider hand position that’s more towards my body.

It was definitely riding in the drops and looking up that would exacerbate the pain.

Medical history for comparison with yours: L1&3 fractured. Minor brain injury, left shoulder SLAP lesion repair 75% of the way around, no collarbone end: synthetic ligament holding in place, left wrist broken in 14 places and pinned.

Good luck getting sorted with the bike, and just a wonder; could you reverse mullet it with a 29er front to bring it up slightly?

Have some Nukeproof ones in a set of 27.5 wheels and xc tyres. Have also used the old barbieri (pipe lagging) in cx tyres and wheels for racing. Have been pleased with both although getting the cx inserts and then the 33c vittoria wets  on was an absolute bastard. If I were using that tyre/wheel combo for road/bridleslaying I’d not bother with the inserts and just use higher pressure

Still have and use my rz120 https://flic.kr/p/xZgk9y

Had an early 00s road bike as a hire bike back in 2015. Complete with CODA quill stem and Campag record 3×9 and ‘handmade in America’ stickers. No photos of the complete bike but it was enjoyable to ride around Calpe area.

@13thfloormonk is that the Rourke cx that you had built?

@bikesandboats yes I will be selling a 50mm ti stem, and yes a fair guess on the fork steerer. Would make sense from a manufacturer point of view.

@bikesandboats it’s BTP bar tape from freshtripe. Feels good to use although will no doubt dirty up fast. Very little stretch as it’s woven cotton, but it benefited from being wound twice to loosen it. I might get a predominantly black version for winter (I won’t). I’m 6’2” and went for the large frame, no steerer cutting. I always build up and ride first and then cut down if needed. It’s much better sized than the Genesis Vagabond it replaced (which I’ll be selling soon and which definitely takes a 27.5×2.8 in the front). I tried my 2.8 tyre on two different wheels: Velocity Cliffhanger rims and Roval traverse fatties, both not enough clearance and I think Andrew added that section covering tyres after he and I spoke. Which is fair. To point out I’m not grumpy and flouncy about it, just disappointed. Am I going to notice the difference of 0.2” in riding? I doubt it highly. It just means I now have some 2.8” tyres to sell ?

The bike rides superbly btw and I’m trying to resist buying a Scrambler.

Pfft. Amateurs. https://flic.kr/p/2pwYmpP
worked very well in clearing the towpath and some bridleways after the spring storms. Had zero issues with public or law. I have a folding pull saw that fits nicely in a frame bag for the small stuff.

No, those are 27.5 with a 2.6 in front and 2.3 out back. I fed back to Andrew asking if the geometry had been changed as there was no way a 2.6 was going in the rear, and the 2.8 I tried in the front was a rizla away from the crown. Shame but hey ho.

Thanks

@ P20 did the Morsa kit come with the second mount in the box as it were?

I use one of these ZRACE garmin/go pro mounts

https://a.aliexpress.com/_EvXUWSD

And then an exposure GoPro adapter to mount a strada rs or revo depending on which wheels i am using. https://www.condorcycles.com/products/exposure-lights-3-prong-action-camera-mount-to-exposure-cleat?variant=37191108952214

Racewarw direct also have mounts for the smaller exposure lamps https://www.racewaredirect.co/shop/exposure-gopro-mount-with-security-tabs/

Had my Lefty FS for 9 years now. Still fun to ride. No issues with service costs because I haven’t ever serviced it. I imagine after saying that now it will explode in a dramatic fashion this weekend in the black mountains.

Afraid not. Rode the bridleway and byway from Ynys Wen east around Foel Frech and to Blaen y cwm then south through Cadair Benllyn down to Frongoch. Was pretty good underwheel. Rocky but not baby heads.

Why is the flat mount an issue? I’ve been using a whisky MCX with flat mount caliper and 180mm rotor for the last two years and no bother. Also on my vagabond with a 160-180mm adapter and flat mount cable calipers. My holy grail is for a rigid 29er fork with 100/12 axle, mudguard mounts and straight steerer…

A friend and I use the GP urbans. Found they also used Italian sizing and came up at 32mm instead of 35mm. Quick rolling tyre though. I also like the Vittoria zafiro in 30mm.

Ah sadly not. I have one in 38mm flavour and one in 52mm flavour. But both tan. Just to add an option: have you considered the challenge getaway in 700/45? Very pleased with mine.

@petefromearth I dunno, being able to put a weeks worth of shopping plus work stuff in those panniers is useful. Completely agree about the heft, though. I used mine with some 20” mtb tyres on for an off road trail clean the other month, and it took 3 of us to lift it over the kissing gates.

Used the tan wall in: terreno dry, mezcal and liked them. Used the TNT anthracite tyres in all flavours of Terreno, and Barzo. Definitely heavier but tougher. Note also that the tan wall darkens over use. @13thfloormonk what tyres are you looking at as I have a big pile to sell? Sure as a fellow Rourke owner I do you a good price yes.

Another vote for a long tail e-cargo bike. 5 years/nigh on 9000 miles on our tern gsd with panniers. I’d also recommend some bar muffs, we used cyglove and they’ve done 3 1/2 years and are now on their last legs.

I have a pair of Whisky Winston bars. They are tremendously comfortable even though they made my wallet cry. Mid-Audax: https://flic.kr/p/2puS7g4

On a chippy tea run on a camping weekend

But there were generally signs of life in the forms of olive groves https://flic.kr/p/2pUPSSs

and I think I was slightly over-tyred as I went with a 29×2.25 barzo up front and 700×45 terreno wet out back, https://flic.kr/p/2pV7qaU

But it was nice on some of the descents to have that cushion up front. All rides were a mix of road and rough stuff, and there was walking too.

Paths would often start like this then peter out to a thin strip of dead grass https://flic.kr/p/2pV87Hd

Following the power lines worked well right up until they ended at a derelict house https://flic.kr/p/2pUH9ii

And now pictures. Here https://flic.kr/p/2pV7pVf

Led to here https://flic.kr/p/2pV6r7U

Anywho. Out for a week and alternating riding with family stuff: suits the wife who just wants to sunbathe and the boy who just wants to play in the pool. Bit of research and route planning before but not much. Had failed to spot info on the massive insects. Default minimum size for insects seems to be thumb size then getting bigger. Riding down some trails and passing through spider webs like fishing line, had me screaming in a few places. https://flic.kr/p/2pV7qh7

Forum burped whilst I was writing a log post so more to come

I changed from a Rab tarp tent shelter, basically a ridge-less ridge tent https://flic.kr/p/2oVc5g1

to a Sierra Designs tarp tent. I used alloy poles from decathlon that I cut to size.

I used carbon poles I made previously but got fed up with standing on them in the dark and breaking them.

I am also 6’2” and like to be able to sit up if possible. I have a GoLite SL3 for proper luxury when needed.

And don’t forget banking; or rather where your money is invested by the banks when you save, have your wages paid, keep the money for your direct debits or credit card payments. Changing to an ethical bank has more positive effect on the environment than swapping to an EV or going vegan. And it’s a lot simpler.
I believe someone already mentioned the internet; let’s not forget the electricity usage of server farms for social media including strava, and forums.
Very easy to become overwhelmed but little changes all help.

Have fun! We are out there end of May for some non racing riding.

Always a pleasure to see it coming up, normally after the snowdrops have gone over and the daffs are fading, but before the bluebells here in south wales. I’ve noticed a few bluebells are coming earlier before the ramsons have flowered though. Goes great with a dhal, or cheese sarnies, or pasta. Yum.

Buffalo cycleshirt? Though unlikely anyone in their marketing team felt the need for some kgnarr to be shredded.

12×100 axle Son hub after 2x SP hub failures here. Exposure revo front light and red eye rear. Used for audaxes, commuting, touring, off road touring, and no issues. I used the 12mm/qr adapter when I was using it in a qr fork. The lights are on by the time I’ve ridden 30yards to the end of my road.

Subjectively: Does it mean that someone is observed having fun on their bicycle and the observer is envious of either the fun having or the equipment?

Objectively: Does it mean that the enjoyer is having fun but they acknowledge that whatever type of bicycle is in use by them is making the riding experience less visceral?

Really bikes are bikes and just for having fun, no?

Ah. Water. Festive 500 2020. This is a road.

This is also a road

Both I rode through and then once home had to strip bearings all the way up to the fork crown.

This is going through some ruts that escalated quickly atop mynydd maen.

And this is my buddy JB taking a header on a byway that runs down the hill then across the brook and out the other side.

I think I’ve cleaned that section maybe 25% of the times I’ve tried it.

Having ridden off road with our GSD the larger wheel sizes and corresponding increases in tyre choice interests me but I feel the next ebike I buy will be a moustache etandem mtb.

Is there still the wave washer in place to take up the preload?